Application of Fuzzy Sets to Aggregate Production Planning With Multiproducts and Multitime Periods

The objective of this study is to develop a fuzzy mathematical programming method to solve aggregate production planning (APP) decision problems that involve multiproducts and multitime periods in a fuzzy environment. The fuzzy APP model that is developed here attempts to minimize total cost with respect to inventory carrying levels, available labor levels, machine capacity and warehouse space, and the constraint of available budget. The proposed APP method evaluates monetary interest of related operating cost categories and provides greater computational efficiency and flexibility by adopting triangular fuzzy numbers and piecewise linear membership functions to represent both imprecise data and fuzzy goals. The actual performance of an industrial company was used to demonstrate the feasibility of applying the proposed method to real-world APP decisions. The proposed method yields an efficient solution and presents overall decision-maker satisfaction with the given goal values. This paper also presents several significant management implications that are related to the practical application of the proposed method.